The present invention relates to an adjustable table and more particularly to a table which may be adjusted to any desired height, angle or inclination or positioned in any horizontal direction.
The subject invention is designed primarily for use by bed-ridden patients and permits the performance of many tasks by a recumbent or semi-recumbent person which tasks have heretofore been extremely difficult if not impossible under such conditions. In addition, such device has proven to be especially practical for persons aggravated by back and/or neck strain resulting from long hours of standing or sitting. It has been shown that such a person utilizing the subject adjustable table while working in an incumbent position can actually increase work output, primarily due to the added comfort and relaxation afforded.
Some of the many tasks that can be performed from a horizontal or semi-recumbent position are as follows: typing can be easily and comfortably executed; many business machines such as adding machines, posting machines and calculators can easily and quickly be secured to the table and utilized; heavy books may conveniently be supported; and drawing and oil painting may easily be performed. Additionally, the table may conveniently be used as a desk, a drafting table, a work bench, a display board, an easel, a hospital table and/or desk or as a utility table.
Furthermore, the novel adjustable table makes available to the user many pieces of furniture that would not ordinarily be used in the home but whose occasional would be beneficial, as for example, a typewriter stand, a drafting table or a hospital table. The cost of these separate pieces of furniture would be prohibitive and their space requirements do not ordinarily justify their individual purchase.
The subject invention is designed for convertibility, mobility, adaptability and portability and provides many useful functions both indoors and outdoors, in home and office, hospitals and rest homes and schools and institutions.
The prior art is prolix with attempts at solutions to provide adjustable tables designed primarily for use by bed-ridden patients and which permit the performance of many tasks of recumbent or semi-recumbent persons. In addition, such devices have proven to be especially practical for persons aggravated by back and/or neck strain resulting from long hours of standing or sitting. It has been shown that such persons utilizing an adjustable table while working in an incumbent position can actually increase work output, primarily due to the comfort and relaxation afforded.
Attempts have been made to provide such adjustable tables and, in general, have used one of three means for securing the table surfaces at the desired angle of inclination. One such means includes a pair of arcuate members defining a central groove in each member. A pair of stud bolts are connected to the table and positioned to ride in the grooves, allowing the table to be inclined about the horizontal axis. When the desired angle of inclination is reached, wing nuts, threaded onto the stud bolts and positioned against the arcuate members, retain the table member at the desired angle.
A second means generally found in drafting tables, includes a locking mechanism interconnected to the axial support member of the table surface. A hand or foot lever is interconnected to the locking means and is positionable to disengage the locking means, whereby the axial support member is free to rotate and the table may be inclined to the desired angle. The lever is re-positioned to engage the locking mechanism to maintain the table at the selected inclination.
The third means includes a plate member, laying in a plane normal to the horizontal axis of the table, co-operating with frictional elements positioned therearound to provide a frictional force for maintaining the table at a pre-set angle of inclination. To change to inclination, sufficient rotational forces must be exerted against the table to overcome the frictional force of the elements bearing on the plate.
The disadvantage of the prior adjustable table tilting devices is the difficulty of manipulating the various securing devices by a reclining person.
The first mentioned device requires that the user be able to reach the securing wing nuts situated at either extremity, a location normally beyond the rear of a reclinating person. Further, the wind nuts tend to "back-off" during use, requiring periodic re-tightening.
The second mentioned device is a complex, precision-made mechanism. Such mechanisms levy a requirement for periodic maintenance and adjustment. Additionally is it difficult for a reclining person to reach the disengagement lever and exert sufficient force to free the axial support member.
The third mentioned device requires the reclinating user to exert sufficient force to move the plate member along the frictional surfaces. Continued use tends to wear the contact surfaces as well as score the plate member, thereby reducing the contact area and, thus, the frictional force maintaining the table surface at the desired inclination.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing novel apparatus for inclining the planar surface of an adjustable table and which apparatus allows the inclination to be easily manipulated by a reclining person.